To Live Or To Die
by TheEEPGirl
Summary: The other's weakness is another's best point. Although Arada, Miley, and Jean are just regular girls, together, they could be one dangerous foe. If only they'll realize that.
1. The Trouble Starts

**Hello! Okay, let me tell you straight off, I hate the Hunger Games. I think it is really boring, but the reason why I'm writing this is because my friend has this story and since she doesn't have an account, she gave her story to me. Well, if you really like this story, or you love me, review! If you really hate this story, or you really dislike me, review! I just want your damn reviews! **

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I sat on a dry patch of grass and reviewed the message in my head again. _Let's meet there in 10 minutes_, it said. _There _meant our secret clearing in the woods, and I was 4 minutes early. The note came from my friend, and we would always meet here when there's something important to discuss, or when we ran out of food and needed help to hunt some.

I smiled, remembering of the day on how we met.

_I was 9 back then, and I was starving since my mother took away my lunch. I had wandered onto the woods (a forbidden place), seeing a tasty squirrel, when I stumbled onto a creek. I bowed down to drink the water, when an arrow whizzed past me. I panicked, and grabbed the arrow. I noticed it wasn't quite sharp, and was merely a straight stick. Still, I was afraid of the person who shot it. I had looked round, and found a shadow lurking in the corner. I held up the stick, and the person emerged from the back of the tree. It was a girl, not much older than me, that came forward to take it. She considered me no threat, and held out her hand. _

_I was about to take it when a squirrel shot by and another girl came running out. The squirrel escaped into a tree, and the girl was lying down on the edge of the creek. She had tripped, and I was already up to get her. She took my hand, and smiled. It was then, that my mother yelled my name._

I frowned, as my thoughts wandered onto my family. I have 4 brothers, a sister, and my mother. My father was caught eating some fruit from our garden and was about to get killed, when my oldest brother stepped up to be a Peacekeeper. He made a deal with them that he'll join, but only if they didn't kill my father, they agreed, and after a month, they broke their promise and killed my father. Since my brother was in the system too long, he knew too many information to be set free. His name is David.

My second oldest brother, Jeffrey, still lives with me. When he was young, he caught hold of a very deadly disease and my mother has been crooning over him ever since. Since we are poor, we didn't have enough food for him to get well, so my mother would often give my food to him. My brother is the reason why I met my friends.

My 3rd oldest brother ran away when he was 17. He left a letter saying he went to the Capitol, and after a few months, sent another letter saying he was well and rich. Occasionally, we would receive a letter from Alex, but there was never a return address to write back.

I sighed of thinking of my fourth oldest brother, he is the biggest disappointment of them all. Gwan is a victor from the Games, and finished the fastest Game ever. When he came back though, he changed. He didn't invite my family to live with him, he didn't give us any food or money, and everytime he is forced to talk with us, he acted like we were a piece of dirt that was getting in his eyes.

My sister, Mary, works at District 3, although they are constantly transporting her to here and there so she mainly lives at District 6.

I gave a big sigh, and was startled when I heard a voice saying, "You don't sound happy.

"Arada?" I asked.

"No, Miley, no duh! Who else has my voice?" Arada sat across from me, "Besides, Miley is over there somewhere. Found a bird or something."

I gave her a smile, "Well, you're late."

"Just one minute late! Geez, what about Miley?"

"Well, considering the fact YOU sent the note, and I brought some food, you could have showed up early like Jean did." I saw Miley climbing down a tree holding a small bird, and a bigger bird. She sat diagonal from us, and started to prepare our meat.

"Well, what's the problem?" I asked, not wanting to look at the poor animal.

"Am I the only one who has a telegram? You know what, don't even answer that." Arada said after receiving Miley's careless expression, "I received a telegram from the Capitol and they said that there are going to be 3 tributes this year." Arada turned to see our expressions, but slumped her shoulders as none of us was reacting badly.

"I bet they said, _the more the merrier!_" Miley sarcastically said.

I nodded, but Arada pouted, "Am I the ONLY one who panicked about this?! This means that we could all get into the Games!"

"Well, sure, but I have less chance of entering than you guys since I barely entered this year." I said, thoughtfully. They are a year older than me.

"It doesn't matter! They also added that since this year is special, they will both combine the male's and female's names together!"

"Well it makes sense since you said we could all be in the Games." Miley started to make a small fire.

"You guys just don't get it! At least Molly understands!" Arada patted her horse's head while it neighed. Arada gave me a look of worry, "Molly never neighs. She only neighs when-"

I held up my finger to tell her to shush. I sensed a movement in the woods. Arada whispered, "there's a stranger." Miley, in the middle of turning the birds over, started to put out her fire.

I could hear Miley say in an undertone, "Just when I got hungry." I silently grabbed my stuff when it came. A rustle in the bushes extended into a white Peacekeeper's uniform and we were running for our lives. This was the first time somebody had caught us in our clearing, and we knew Peacekeepers didn't give mercy. I saw Miley drop the bird and Arada get on her horse.

There were shouts of "Stop!" and "Surrender yourselves!", but we didn't stay long enough to know who said it. I did glance back and I saw there was about 5 of them. Even though Arada is on a horse, I still outran her. Miley hopped on Arada's horse and I then realized we couldn't keep on running like this. We need to make turns.

I signaled Arada to follow me and we turned right. When the Peacekeepers were back on our track, we did another turn to the right, and another right. We were running north now, and soon, we lost track of them. That didn't stop us from running, no, we didn't stop a bit. Arada, Miley, and Molly was behind me for a few meters, and it wasn't soon until I felt an electrical shock run through me. Then all went black and I fell down.


	2. Spilled The Beans

"God, she's not waking up," I muttered. Arada gave me a glare, and continued shaking Jean.

"Come on Jean," she crooned, "Wake up. Rise and shine!" I heard Jean mutter, and Arada, with renewed confidence, began to shake her more. "Yes Jean! It's Arada and Miley! You remember me, don't you?"

"Us," I corrected, "You remember _us, _don't you?"

Arada shrugged me off, and then Jean woke up. "Thank god!" Arada yelled.

"W-what happened?" Jean asked, rubbing her eyes.

"Well, some stuff, but the point is, you are okay and-"

"Oh for pete's sake! Give it UP!" I went over to Jean's side and sat down, "Okay, so you barged into an electric force field, the Peacekeepers caught up with us-"

"Miley!"

I ignored Arada, "and now she's negotiating with them downstairs." I went back to the trap door and crossed my arms, we are at Jean's house and since Jean's mom wanted Jeffrey to have the luxury of his own room, Jean was forced to live in the attic so Jean's mom could look over Jeffrey and Jeffrey had his privacy. When Jean told me of this, I couldn't decipher if she was happy or not.

"I'm sorry for-" Jean began.

"There's nothing to be sorry about!" Arada crooned again.

"No, it's my fault-"

"It's okay, Jean." I said.

"Well, in either way-"

"Everything's all right." Arada and I said at the same time.

"Would you guys stop?! I need to tell you something!" She yelled. "I feel bad that we didn't get to eat the bird."

It was quiet for a while, but then Arada began laughing. Not the haha, but the crazy type. "That's all you care?!" She cried, "Jean, we were spotted!"

Jean tilted her head, "What do you mean?"

"Do you know what district comes after our district?"

"12, why?"

"Well, when you collided into the force field, a few meters to your left, there was a girl. Staring at us!" Then she began laughing again, "So that means...that we have been spied on all our meetings!"

"Arada, calm down! Jean, your mother is here." I moved to the left to show that her mother, just finished climbing, was fuming and mad.

"JEAN! YOU BETTER EXPLAIN FOR YOURSELF, YOUNG LADY!" I saw Jean wince and, her mom, out of breath, begin in a tiny bit softer voice. "I had to negotiate my butt off down there! Nothing could convince them, so I had you and your friends-" she pointed wildly at us, "-to be in the Hunger Games! And you are never returning to that clearing ever again! Oh the pain of losing so much food! You won't have a breakfast or a dinner then! Since I can not stand the sight of you, the Reaping shall be tomorrow!" She stomped down the staircase with that, and slamming the trap door.

"So we're in the Hunger Games." I said evenly.

"See, I told you guys we could be in it!" Arada sniffed.

"We could die," Jean started to stand, "We could so die, and my mom wouldn't care."

I gave her a look of sympathy as her life seemed so hard. I only had a mom for as long as I could remember, since my mom would break in tears when I mention my dad. I never had the problem of not getting enough food though, since I was the only child and there was only my mom, there was nobody to share it with.

Where there was a sad Jean, a new Jean took its place. Anger.

"We have to make a strategy, we have to win." She said.

Arada looked up, "I doubt it. Thirty-six people is a lot."

"It doesn't matter! I need to show my mom I'm not useless! Miley! What is your weakness?!"

The question caught me so off-guard that I didn't have time to lie. "Being smart. I can't decipher between poison ivy or ivy."

"Great, Arada?"

"Speed. That's why I ride a horse."

"That's wonderful! My weakness if strength! And my best point is speed! Arada?"

"Deciphering plants and animals! Duh! That's why I live in a healer family!"

"And mine is strength...God, we all fit together!"

"That's why we need to win!" Jean whined.

Arada nodded, but I had to ask, "But how are we going to win? We need a strategy!"

"Let's ask Gwan!" Arada and I stared at her. Because of how he treated his family, Jean never talked to him, but the fact that she wants to talk to him now means that she's really serious.

"Well, if you want to..."

"If it's alright with you..."

"Then it's settled! Let's go!" Jean took our hands and led us down the stairs.

I saw Jean's mom in the kitchen, and saw her glaring at Jean. What type of mother does that? I didn't have time to think about it because we were out the door and entering the Victors' Village.


	3. Our Training

Jean knocked on the door impatiently. We waited for 2 minutes, and no answer. She knocked again, louder this time, and muttered, "Come on!" The door opened to reveal her brother, Gwan, in a rich red robe holding a cigar. I wrinkled my nose in disgust, as it was just a waste of plants.

"Ah! Jean and her friends! Come in! Come in! I have, uh, cookies!" Gwan said. He ushered us inside, and Jean softened for a moment. There wasn't a lot of times when Gwan is nice and like he was before the games. We sat around a round glass table in a gold detailed stool. On the table was a platter of sugar cookies. Another thing that we, healers, had to heal often. I thought of my brother, Harry, as he was sick. We didn't know the symptoms, it did help to be in a healer's family. I saw Miley reach for a cookie, and Jean began to talk.

"I'm here on a business matter, Gwan." She said.

"And that business is?" He asked, taking a long drag from his cigarette.

"We have been selected for the Hunger Games and since the Reaping is tomorrow, we need advice on how to stay alive."

"Hmm? Can't you wait until our training is going to start?" Clearly, he believes us.

"Gwan, we are just normal girls. We are going to _die _out there."

Gwan gave it some thought, and finally gave in. He motioned for us to put our heads closer, and whispered, "I did get hold of some information. They are changing this year. Every single thing you saw in the plaza is now going to be different."

"Of course it is. I discovered that when they accepted us into the Games." I heard Miley say.

"Keep your voice down. Anyway, when you are in the battlefield, stay together. You will need each other."

We all nodded, which bumped our heads against each other. A lively tune interrupted the silence, and I noticed it was coming from his phone. He held up a finger, and answered the call. We heard him grunt and a snort. Then he ended the call. He stared at his phone for a moment, but when he put it away and looked at us, his gaze is different.

"What are you three squirts doing in here!? I did not give you permission to come in here! GET OUT!" He stood up so quickly that his chair toppled over, and he made hands gesture like he was shooing away a fly. I looked at Jean, but her face was concealed by her bangs. She stood up, and again, she grabbed our hands and led us out the door.

"Gee, what a helpful brother," She mumbled.

"Well, at least we got some help," I said, cheerfully.

"Doesn't matter, hey, what do you think the call was about?" Miley asked.

I shot her a look, "Miley! It's not our business!"

She snorted, but Jean interrupted her, "Right, and what are business is training. Come on! I gotta train you on your speed!" This time, she ran off without our hands, and we were forced to run to her.

She stood there, waiting at the school where only rich people go, and I saw Miley was already there. "Geez, what took you so long?"

I gave Miley a glare and panted, "Well, you tripped me!"

"No I did not! You tripped on over how fast I was running."

"Same thing!"

"Children children, settle down! Now, I'll give you your test scores."

My jaw fell as I heard what Jean said, "That was a t-test!?"

"Of course!"

"But it wasn't fair! I didn't know where I was suppose to go!"

"You had Jean to follow, didn't you?" Miley snorted.

"Y-yeah, but-"

"Would you like to run more then?" Jean tested me.

I gave them a sigh, and muttered, "You guys are just ganging up on me!"

Jean ignored me, and continued on, "Miley, you were pretty good, but don't sprint at the last minute. Who knows, you might still have to run again. Arada, you, however, gave a big sprint at first, and lost all your breath at the end. Don't do that!"

"Then when are you suppose to sprint?" I asked, almost catching my breath.

"Never! Run an even pace all the way through and run until your enemy is out of breath!"

"Great, now can we go onto my subject while Arada's out of breath?" Jean nodded, and once more, I find myself out of breath. Miley gave us a test on how many fruits in a basket we could carry. Every 30 seconds, Miley would add another fruit, and sometimes that fruit is a watermelon. My arms ached as I was carrying 24 apples, and a melon. Miley moved to give me an orange, and I dropped it. On my toes.

"CRAP!" I yelled. Jean looked shock, and I blushed, "I mean, CRAB!" Miley dropped another melon in my basket for a good measure, and picked it all up. She didn't stagger like I did. I looked on how well Jean was doing, and saw she was worse than me. Twelve apples, an orange, and a peach made her nearly drop it, and she didn't even get a melon or watermelon!

"Good work, Jean," Miley complemented.

"What?! I carried more than that!"

"Well, you dropped it!"

I groaned, as she gave us our test scores. "Jean, you did well, but when you are fighting, choose a light weapon or don't give such a hard attack, because they will parry it easily. Arada, don't strain your muscles."

"That's it? No 'good job' or even a 'you did your best!' Fine, be like that, now it's my subject." I laughed evilly, and we went to my house. Soon, they would be sore, but not physically! Haha!


	4. Dressing Up

I lay in my bed awake. The first plant I remembered is the aloe vera which is used to treat burns, cuts, and skin infections. I groaned, as I remembered how Arada drilled plants knowledge in my head. I knew it will pay off, but still. I got up and started to dress, I knew my mother wouldn't bother checking on me or giving me advice.

I entered my garden and looked proudly at my peach tree. It was a gift from my father, who worked 12 hours a day for 2 months for it in other people's fields. Every since my father died, I have been taking care of it every since, trimming the branches so my brother won't hit them, raking the dead peaches so my brother won't trip on them, harvesting the products. I sighed, and began climbing the tree to get all the peaches.

After that, I continued onto my cherry tomatoes and found no disappointment. Forty-six bright tomatoes. I watered it, and continued on to all my other plants. After it was finished, I meet up with Arada and Miley, where we waited for our names to be announced. A woman in her early 30s walked onstage wearing a bright orange shirt that had long sleeves on one side, and none on the other. Her skirt did the same, long frills on one side, getting shorter and straight on the other side.

I squinted at her, as she was wearing such bright orange with a star on her frizzy brown hair, that she could be mistaken as the sun. She began to say, "Welcome to the annual 75th Hunger Games! I, Joseline Meringue, am District 11's escort! Today is a very special day as we shall choose 3 tributes for the Hunger Games, but it was already decided! Please give it up for Jean, Aranda, and Miley!" It was all quiet for a moment as we walked onstage, and then there was a loud applause.

I heard Miley mumble, "Filthy arrogant people who don't give a damn-" Aranda stabbed her in the stomach. I stood there, my face blank as I saw my mother fake-crying. Although Aranda's brother, Harry, was crying for real though. I felt a sense of loneliness as we walked to the train. Miley began to pace around in a circle while Arada sat in one of the booths, waving goodbye. I stood amid there, not wanting to break down.

Since I was chosen, they gave my mom a whole lot of food for her "loss." They just don't believe I'll win. I sat down, and then sprang up again not believing this was real. They made us starve so they could have crystal chandeliers, padded seats, and the worst of all, too much food. They want us to die for their thrill of enjoyment, and they want us to kill. Joseline stared at me, and finally, Arada broke apart as we entered a tunnel.

My stomach grumbled, and Miley asked, "Are we going to eat or no?"

Joseline clapped her hands, "Oh yes!" A plate filled with food lowered down into the table. As we sat eating, Joseline kept on studying me. I broke apart a chicken leg and dipped it in a special red sauce made from tomatoes, I waved my chicken leg in the air and asked, "May I help you?"

"I was just thinking..." she began, "That you look so much like a victor."

"I'm Gwan's sister." I said, eating the chicken now. She made an 'o' with her mouth, but nothing came out. Arada sighed, ans Joseline tried to make a conversation again, "Don't worry girls. It isn't everyday that 3 people could win."

Miley twirled a stringy substance called pasta with her fork, "Speaking of which, what are the new rules this year?"

"Ah, well, if one of your tributes die, you all die." Arada dropped her spoon, and mumbled sorry. "Don't be! Everybody is nervous at this time."

"Are there any more rules?" Miley asked, ignoring Arada.

"Well, considering there is one more, the last one is that each person will be given a weapon before they fight." I nodded, and I saw Miley smile as well. The train lurched to a stop, and we heard screams and yells. We all rushed to the window and was amazed by how many people there are. Joseline called, "Come on girls! Best not keep them waiting!" Slowly, we exited the train's doors and walked into the main hall.

We all departed on our separate ways while Joseline stood in the middle of our intersections, waving. I entered the room, and examined it. The walls were gray with engraving of flowers and such. There was two stools, a lounger, a counter, a heavy locked wardrobe, and a table. For a second, I thought I was in the wrong room, but one of the stools suddenly twirled to reveal a man.

I gasped at how I didn't see him. There was no backing, after all, on the stool! He said in a low voice, "What do you think fashion is?"

I replied simply, "To have people admire your mind and style."

"Partially right. Fashion is creating your own you."

"But wouldn't that make you spend your precious time deciding what clothes make you, well, you?"

"No, that's what is special about humans, they follow their natural instinct." He glanced at me before getting off the stool, "Well, some of us."

I inspected his clothing, and saw he had a grey cloak that matched the walls. Inside, however, he wore a puffy green shirt with a very straight and almost skirt like brown pants.

As if reading my mind, he said, "Torture on what the Capitol puts us through."

I nodded, and I suddenly have the urge to ask, "What are we going to wear for our grand entrance?"

He raised his eyebrows, but continued on, "Since your district is based on plants, shouldn't it be like this tree outfit?" I nodded, but he shook his head. "No, let''s change the them this year."

"Isn't that disobeying the rules?"

"No, just finding another way. This year, we are going to dress you in camouflage."

"Just like you did?" He grinned, and I realized I just said that I could be easily tricked.

"Yes, I spoke with the other stylists and we agreed one of you shall be dirt, the other shrubs, and the last one water."

I was about to ask another question, but he cut me off, "Too many questions! Let's begin or we'll be late for the entrance this evening!" I said thanks, but he laughed, "Call me Kenny!"


	5. Our Training, Again!

I fidgeted in my seat. I was the first to be ready and Miley was second. Jean still hadn't appeared. I examined Miley's outfit, she had an extra long skirt and a long sleeved shirt which had a painted ditch on her right arm which evolved into a river on her left. There were lots of painted fish and plants which looked so real. Her hair was a tinted blue, and her outfit had so much glory in it that it made mine look in shame.

I had a simple brown shirt with a brown wavy skirt. There was a tree root on my skirt and multiple plants, leaves, shrubs, and even weeds painted on me. They had my hair streaked with green. Although the painting was real, I wish I looked elegant. I turned and looked around, and realized Jean was coming down.

She had the same clothing as me, but her shirt was painted so much that it resembled dry dirt and her skirt, with it's wave, looked muddy and had car tracks. Her hair however, was braided so much that it resembled rabbit tracks.

I held my breath, and remembered that I had to count to 100 and raise my arms. While I needed to count, I had to stay completely still. We all got into the carriage, with Miley on the left of me, and Jean on my right. So if the Capitol people were looking at me, Jean had the dirt, I started to grow plants, and Miley had the river near by. The carriage started moving, and we heard screams.

Once I counted to 100, I raised my arms, Miley pressed one of the fish on her, and Jean pulled on her hair. The screams were doubled and I caught a glimpse of us in one of the screens. We looked stunning. Jean's hair turned to a car, Miley's hair made a realistic river, and my arms showed a tree.

It wasn't long until the gates closed after us and we get to train. Joseline ran to hug us, "You girls were stunning! Your stylists seems to know what they're doing!" I saw Gwan from the corner of my eye, and when Joseline left, he came to us.

"It seems your stylist knows what they're doing. Yes, you are just a piece of dirt." He said, particularly to Jean. I saw her clench her fist, but Gwan saw none of that. He continued, "Now, you have a command. You can only practice your weakness." He left with that.

I heard Jean mumble, "He just wants us to look like wimps."

"No Jean," I said, "He's right, everybody will be watching and will know we are good at something."

Jean shook her head, but I knew she got the message. I saw her go to the weights, and try to throw a pack of flour. It barely went forward a feet.

I sighed, and was about to talk to Miley when I saw she was already at the plants section, learning how to use them to heal. Then that leaves me to my weak spot. I groaned as I made my way to the track with the tires and ditches.

It was finally lunch by the time I got out of that thing. I had completed the course 12 times, but each time, Jean would pop up and make me do it again. I sighed, as my neck hurts from stooping down, and my hands were raw from crawling. If I were to choose harvesting in the hot sun than this, I would choose the harvesting.

I sat down with Miley and Jean while they unpacked a basket from Joseline. It revealed expensive looking sandwich and I was surprised the bread wasn't stale and there was a lot of meat. I started to spike a conversation, "So how did your first morning of training go?"

Miley shrugged, "It went okay, I spent half an hour on the edible plants section with a girl from District 12. She's 13." A thought pounded in my head, is she hinting that we should watch out for her? Soon, the period was over and I went to the weapons section.

I picked up a sword and twirled it in my to get the feel of it. I saw a guy from District 1 come over and ask, "First time?"

Putting my chin up higher defiantly, I replied tartly, "No. Yours?"

"Course not, shorty." he scoffed, not taking his eyes of me. He twirled an even longer sword than mine easily in his hand. After a pause, he whispered, "Duel?"

I rolled my eyes, responded, "Good luck at the games next week." and started to try out all the other stations. For a week, that was basically all we did, but soon, it was time to impress the Gamemakers with our skills. We were all shoved into a room, and slowly, one by one, they left.


	6. It Payed Off

"District 11, Jean! Please come!" The announcer boomed. I glanced at Aranda and Miley, and received thumbs up. I proceeded on and entered the room. The first thing I noticed was colors splattered all over the room, dirt and all type of herbs on the floor, knives stuck to the walls, and a lot of logs being split. Apparently, this year's theme is strength.

I sighed, I didn't know what I was going to do! I don't have the strength of Miley, or the strategy planning of Arada! It's not like I could woo them over by running like a rabbit either. Plus, they're not even paying attention! They seem bored from watching the same thing over and over by everybody else. I thought for a moment, should I get the lowest score and be the weak people? I surely can't be strong.

Then a thought came to me, I am those determination people. I grinned, and called out to them, "HEY!" None of them payed attention. Again, I yelled, "HEY YOU! YEAH YOU! W-wait. Not you, sorry servant." The servant walked out of the room, and I felt like blushing, but my boldness got ahead of me.

"I am Jean, from District 11. Throw anything at me. Plates, food, knives!" At first, I thought they were going to ignore me, but then they came so fast that I barely had time to think. I did back flips and cart wheels as I remembered Jeffrey would be happy and entertained. Once I got to the wall, I plucked the knives stuck there and began throwing it at the objects they were throwing at me.

Once I had one left, I threw it at a donut and saw it soar into the middle. A guy yelled stop, and deflected the knife coming to him with a plate. I nimbly said, "This is Jean from District 11," and once I was near the door, I added, "May the odds be with you," for a good measure. I left the room blushing.

* * *

I clucked my tongue as I heard my name being called out. "District 11, Arada! Please come!" I had no idea on what I was going to do. Once I closed the door behind me, I causually strolled over to the tridents, a weapon I was familiar with. I shot it straight into the red circle in the center. I congratulated myself, but I was suddenly aware of the zero I was getting.

"Ahem," I said, trying to get the Gamemakers' attention. "Uh, I'm from District 11. Arada." Only one person looked at me. Just one. "Excuse me!" I said in a louder voice, "I am Arada from District 11!" Because now_ nobody_ was paying any attention to me, I furiously seized a ten-pound weight and threw it, making a dummy fall over with a deep dent in the forehead. That satisfyingly made a nice racket. Now about three quarters of those despicable people were engrossed in what I was going to do next.

First, I repeated my identification. A few of them gave me a look that meant _Go on already_. I grabbed a huge spear and began to run from one end of the room. About halfway through, I let go of the spear and it stabbed a cart of paints. The cart knocked down, spilling its liquid everywhere.

Some Gamemakers clucked their tongue, clearly unimpressed, while others were fascinated that a single spear could push over full buckets. I decided to throw short knives next, which wasn't something I was great in but fairly okay.

I grabbed a handful of knives and began throwing them tens of yards away from my targets. I got faster and faster and made more and more bulls-eyes by the second. In the final five seconds of this episode, I didn't miss a single one.

I got a loud applause for that.

At last, after throwing more tridents around and eating all sorts of wild plants without dying, I left the room two minutes early without any sort of dismiss. "See ya!" I shouted rudely behind me as I slammed the door shut.

* * *

"District 11, Miley. Please come!"

I muttered, "Here we go." Once the door closed, I mumbled, "Miley. District 11."

The guy cupped his ears, "What?" He practically yelled.

"Miley! From District 11!" I said in a louder voice. Again, he cupped his ears. "I said Miley, for pete's sake! And I'm from District 11!"

The guy's face turned red with embarrassment and let me continue on. I selected two packs of flour and threw them 12 feet across the room.

The guy scoffed, "The Careers did much better than that!"

My face darkened, and I chose a bow next. I quickly shot an arrow just above his head, and it took his wig away. I shot two more arrows and it pinned his sleeves into the wall. I was about to shoot one more, but my anger would overtake me and hit a vulnerable spot. Instead I shot two dummies in the heart and paused, letting the Gamemakers know that is what's going to happen to the tributes. Or them, it doesn't matter.

Now that I had their attention, I glared at the guy and left the room. Maybe that wasn't very wise.


	7. Our Scores

I groaned as I head a knock on the door. "Go wake up Jean and Arada first!" I yelled.

Joseline answered, "But you're the closest!"

I groaned, as I heard a beep. Joseline came in, and I realized she had hacked my password. I groaned again as Joseline began shaking my shoulders. "Stop..." I mumbled, "Stop...Stop!...STOP ALREADY!" I smacked her hand away and she recoiled.

"Well, you are not an early bird." She left the room, and I sighed. Today is the day when they'll announce the trial scores. I was, though, curious.

I slowly picked myself up and began to brush up. I made my hair into a ponytail, wore an overlarge t-shirt, and some leggings. They can't blame me for not dressing up because I could change this outfit into a dress! And it's the Capitol! Where everybody wears crazy stuff!

I thought of Joseline's outfit today, and shuddered. She had a puffy skirt that barely showed her feet, and on her skirt were so many frills and ribbons that I wondered how she got that washed. Her shirt was no better either, it was simple, in fact, but the shoulders were puffed up and had a big bow on the back. Her frizzy hair complemented her outfit.

I was about to exit the room, when I noticed a rock I brought from home. It was just a smooth river stone, really, but I remembered getting it when I first met Jean and Arada. I fingered it, and then brought it with me.

Once I entered the living room, I saw Jean on the couch, sitting with a smile on her face. "Good morning!" She said.

I grunted, and saw she had a purple silk shirt on with skinny jeans. I sat on one of the stools and I saw Joseline come down the stairs. Her eyes were frantic and I heard her mumble, "Your Aranda friend is the worst when it comes to waking you up."

After a few minutes, Arada came downstairs in a robe. She sat near Jean and turned on the TV. We were just in time to hear Caesar announce Jean's score.

"District 11, Jean. Score of ten."

I saw Jean nearly fall of her seat, but if Arada wasn't there, she would have fallen. I went over to her, and patted her back.

"District 11, Miley. Score of ten."

Now it was my turn to almost fall of the seat. Sure glad I moved to the couch with Arada and Jean.

"District 11, Arada..." I heard Caesar hold his breath for a moment, "A score of 3...point 5." Then all went blank and there was a crack in the TV. My stone is now gone.

Joseline screamed, "Miley! What did you do?!"

I smiled devilishly, "I wish that wasn't a screen and Caesar is actually there."

"Yeah, you deserve better than that!" Jean chirped.

Arada shrugged, "I only threw knives and a trident."

"Well, you should have gotten at least a 7!" She chirped again.

I nodded my head and then I saw Gwan come down with our stylists. He said, "I heard a commotion, what did they do?"

"Well, apparently, Miley really hates Arada's score." Joseline sniffed.

"And Caesar! Don't forget Caesar!" I said. The moment I said that, I instantly regretted it. My stylist, Jessica, took notice of me and began squabbling.

"Miley! What on earth are you wearing?! Did I not tell you about your fashion senses?"

"Actually, this is a very pretty outfit, because you could change this, into a dress." I said, in a matter of factly voice.

"Gwan! Did you hear of your sister's scores?" Joseline broke in.

"Probably something like a 4?" He asked.

"Actually, that was Arada's score."

"Oh, then is her's lower? Like a two?"

"No, she got a 10...Her friend Miley did too."

I saw Jean stuck her tongue out at him, but Gwan didn't notice. He just scoffed and went upstairs. I saw Jean's stylist, Kenny, give her a smile and Arada's stylist pat Arada on the back. Meanwhile, I wasn't so lucky. Jessica, still fuming, tugged me on my arm to show me how I could make it into a dress. I sighed as I went into the bathroom, made some adjustments to it, and came back out with a strapless dress. I heard her sigh happily, and she went into the kitchen to eat.

My stomach grumbled, and Joseline, taking notice of me, clapped her hands, "Well, let's eat! Since today is the day when Caesar interviews our tributes after all!"

My jaw dropped, "Wait, it's today? I thought it was tomorrow!"

"No no no! We pushed things up a bit and the interview is today! Didn't your stylist tell you that?"

I felt an anger well up in me, as I would have been glaring at Jessica if she was still here. I saw Jean and Arada slightly nod, and I figured only Jessica didn't tell me it. I picked up my rock, fingered it a bit, and smiled. It resembled a snail's shell a bit, and Jessica isn't the brightest.


	8. The Interview

After a very quick and delicious meal, Kenny and I walked to the room where I first met him. He motioned me to sit on one of the stools and all the other stylists came in and they pampered me with all those oils and such. They gave me a brown ruffled skirt and a brown one strand shirt. My hair was curled like my skirt and I recognized I was plain dirt. I sighed, causing Kenny to take notice of me.

"Sh, relax yourself." Kenny whispered.

"It's not that I'm nervous, it's just that how come I'm the plain one?" I asked.

He thought for a moment, "Because your personality settles for everything."

I shook my head, he didn't get it. Nobody did. I was the one in the shade, Miley is the tomboy one, and Arada is the smart one. I'm just a nobody. He walked me to the backstage, where he departed for his seat in the front. I located Arada and Miley, and walked to them. Miley took noticed of me, while Arada was chewing on her nails furiously.

"Calm down," I said, "I checked the schedule and it said I was going first."

"Then what position am I?" Miley asked.

"Um, last, I think." I replied. I heard Miley groan, but I would change spots with her anytime. I was trembling in fact. I kept it all concealed with a smile though. I heard my name get called, and I stood, "Well, wish me luck!" I entered the stage and sat down with Caesar.

''Ah, the most famous Jean!" He cried.

"Ah, the most famous Caesar!" I cried back, "Really, you're more famous than I am."

"I believe you are right, but last night, you were stunning!"

"And what about right now?"

"Hmm, I believe you are still stunning!"

"I see, well Caesar, I do not like being questioned, so is it alright if I ask you some questions instead?"

"Well, there's nothing to ask since I'm an open book! But we could do this, you ask a question, I answer, I ask a question, you answer, all right?"

"Okay then, Caesar, if you could be in the Hunger Games, would you think you'll win?"

"I could never be in the Hunger Games! Jean, your score of 10, would you mind telling us what you did?"

"No, Caesar, if you were in another District, what District would you be in?"

"I don't know, Jean, what are you going to do in the Hunger Games?"

"Oh the usual. Caesar, do you think I'll win?"

"Ah time is up!"

"Wait, what about my question?" I asked, but he made a sign for me to go backstage. I frowned, but smiled one last time as I turned. I heard Caesar barely whisper, "No, I don't think so." before putting on that show smile again.

* * *

I saw Jean stomp as she sat with us.

"How did it go?" I asked.

"Horrible! He kept on dodging my questions!"

"Well, from what I saw," Miley started, "You were too."

"Guys, I'm next!" I panicked, "What should I say, what should I do-"

"Go! They called your name!" Miley shooed me away, and I was faced with a huge crowd.

"Arada Arada! Sit down!" Caesar beckoned.

I nimbly sat down and straightened my frilly green with a brown layer underneath skirt. I had on a green shirt with a brown vest. I straightened that too. "So Caesar! It's my honor to meet you!" I said, I figured I would go with a stubborn girly girl.

"And it's my honor to meet you, too. Now, Arada, would you mind if I asked you some questions?" He asked.

"Not at all!" I faked a smile, and for a second, I thought I was going to puke.

"Well, a 3.5, this is the first time anybody got a decimal in there! Would you tell us what you did?" In my head, I translated, _3.5! Who ever got such a low score!_

I said, "It's not that I don't mind, Caesar, but if I told you, it won't be a secret anymore!"

"I see, I see, you're right of course, you're defiantly right, but do you have any strategy or plan in what to do in the Hunger Games?" _Do you know how you're going to die?_

"Oh, I'm going to do what they expect me to do and such. I just can't wait to climb those trees!"

"Well, I bet when you get on that battle field, you would be amazed!" _When you first step out, I bet you'll die!_

"Oh well, everything's new this year!" I flashed him a smile, stood up, waved, "Well, wish me luck!" and went backstage. I finished my interview 15 seconds earlier.

* * *

"Oh no, it's my turn." I groaned. Arada came through the curtains, while Jean jumped up.

"Arada! That's a dangerous way you're taking it! And your interview is not done until another 15 seconds!" She practically yelled.

"Don't worry! It will give some time for Miley to adjust her speech."

I glared at her, and continued walking in a circle. I heard my name get called, and not for the last time, I thought I really hate that Caesar guy. I walked to the front where I was greeted with a yell. I saluted, and that made them scream even more. I sat next to Caesar, where he flashed me a smile.

"Ah! Miley! I can't believe how great it is to finally meet you!"

"And I can't believe how annoying you are." I mumbled.

"Excuse me? I don't think I catch what you are saying." He cupped his ears and I faked a smile.

"Oh, I just said how wonderful your audience are!" _and how you aren't!_

"Well, we give the best of them for the best tribute!"

"Oh, so I'm the best of Arada and Jean?"

"Well, yes! There were rumors that you were suppose to get an eleven, but would you mind telling us what you did?"

"Sure, I did some stuff." I gave him a grin.

"Ah, well, anything else?"

"And the usual."

"Nothing else?"

"Maybe." I was fully aware that our conversation was getting shorter and shorter, and I think he was aware of it too.

"Well, next question then-"

"Wait, I'm being questioned?"

"Yes, that's how the usual go and-"

"But I don't want to be questioned."

"Ah, well, what do you want to do?"

Again, I mumbled, "Kill you."

"I'm sorry, but you have such a soft voice! Would you mind repeating that?"

"Oh, I said I wish I had my bow so I could show you what I can do!"

"Don't you mean what you did?"

"Sure, that too." Honestly, I wanted to shoot an arrow at his heart, but that wouldn't make the Capitol think nice of me, would it?

Caesar began. "Ah well, I do believe your time is up and-"

"Well, thank you for this time! Chow!" I jumped, gave a wave, and ran backstage.


	9. Get Ready!

A thought pounded inside my head as I woke up. _I'm hungry. _I groggily stood up and washed myself. I gave myself a fancy bath, as there was warm water. In my old life, you only had cold water from the town well, or no shower at all, since the you needed to buy the water too. My old life. I frowned as I realized how long ago that was. I added roses, minerals, and bubbles to my bath. I played with it for a while, but quickly drained it all as I lost interest in it.

I went downstairs and ordered myself a big breakfast. Nobody was awake yet, only the chefs. I had scrambled eggs, a few pancakes, hash brown, bacon, a yogurt smoothie, and warm milk. I grinned when I remembered Arada giving us some milk from her goat, Fern. The happy times it was, where we would trade our food.

I smiled as my thoughts wandered off to my dog, Lucky. My smile turned upside down as I wondered what was happening in District 11. For a second, I was tempted to cry and crawl back to bed.

I shook my head of such thoughts and when Jean and Arada finally woke up and did their stuff, we both went to the training place to get our names down. "Excited?" I asked.

"More like scared like hell." Jean said.

"See what you are teaching her?" Arada asked, after hearing Jean cuss.

"Nope since I don't teach." I said.

"Oh, is it really? Then what were you doing when you were making me carry the basket of fruit then?"

I smiled as I remembered our training of strength, speed, and smartness. "Training," I replied simply. Wow, it seemed so long ago when we were just regular girls.

Arada threw her hands in the air as she tried to counter my reply. "Then what was with the words you said-"

"Oh, just give it up!" I said. Arada crossed her arms and quickly stuck her tongue out at me. I narrowed my eyes a bit.

"Guys, I forgot our strategy plan." Jean said.

"Well, one of them is head for water." I said, glad for the change of subjects.

"And stick together!" Arada added.

I heard a snicker to the left off us and saw a big, massive guy.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"Oh nothing, just to squeeze the life out of you." The guy's voice was deep, and I realized he was at least 17.

"Oh, so you already have a crush on me?"

He scoffed, "What do you mean? If you mean I want to crush you, then you are so right!"

I whispered, "This guy is so dumb."

"And by the looks of it, so big!" Arada whispered back.

Jean just grabbed my hand and we went to the line. It took forever until finally, we were next.

They gave us black shorts, black pants, an puffy black outer pants, a black t-shirt, a black long sleeves, a black sweater, a black outer jacket, and black boots. I frowned as there were so many layers and they were all black. I changed into them and went back to the line. They installed something in my arm, which made me wince, and showed us where to stand.

"Now, do not move!" The lady said. "Is there any specific weapons you want?"

A memory stirred in my brain as I remembered Joseline telling us the new rules._ "Well, considering there is one more, the last one is that each person will be given a weapon before they fight." _

I grinned, as I saw Arada get a trident, and Jean get a dagger. I asked for a bow and some arrows, but they only gave me a bow and one arrow. I frowned, and was about to ask for more arrows, but they left to assist the other tributes.

"I wanted some throwing knives, but they just gave me a dagger." Jean said.

"But a bow with just one arrow is useless!" I crossed my arms as we were set up in the cylinder to the battle field. That was when it dawned on me that I could die.

My eyes were constantly moving as I registered how stuffy it was in the tubes. I slightly moved my head and saw Arada in the corner of my eye. She seemed to be calm. Not like me. Repeatedly I thought, _I'm going to die. I'm going to die. I'm so going to die. _

There was a constant voice counting down from 60 and it irritated me a bit. When it reached 10, I saw the battlefield. A freakin' snowy land. There wasn't a single tree or plant in sight, just white and caves. And we are wearing black. So noticeable.

I scanned the Cornucopia and found a set of arrows a few meters away. It took my whole self to not get convinced to run for it. I heard the guy count 5. My heart started to race.

Four, and I closed my eyes.

Three, I opened them, realizing how stupid to be blind in the game.

Two, I tried to focus on Arada. She still seems calm.

One, and there was an earsplitting sound and the Games were started. I panicked as I saw Jean run ahead of us.


	10. Let's Begin!

I panicked, there was 10 more seconds and the land here was a tundra. I located a bright green bag a few meters away from me, and I knew I must get it. I just can't live alone on a dagger, a bow, and a trident. Everybody else has a mace or a sword! I noted down the disadvantages, and the best points. If I ran to the green bag fast enough, then I could still meet up with Arada and Miley with a bag of provisions, but if I do run to the bag, I could end up losing them instead.

No! I must get that bag! They blew the horn and I began to run as fast as I could to the bag. I looked behind my back and found that Arada also grabbed a green bag and Miley was running as fast as she could to me. I panicked again, and when I was about to grab the bag, an arrow whistled pass my head. I turned to my right and found a District 12 girl pointing another arrow at me. I fell to the floor and grabbed the bag with me while I rolled away.

The arrow shot a person just where I was before and collapsed on my arm. I scrambled to get up just as I saw the District 12 girl falling with a sword through her heart. Another girl ran to get her arrows, and I could have sworn it was Miley. I shook my head and began running to the farthest cave. It wasn't soon until I felt hot blood trickling down my arm.

I glanced at what got me, and realized it was a knife, that was still stuck on me. I yank on it away, and glanced at the person who did this. It's a boy about 14 years old and he was running after me. I suddenly stopped, making him grin and run even faster, and once he was a meter or two away from me, I began to run again. He stopped, out of breath, and that was when I threw his knife at him.

It landed on his throat, killing him in a few seconds. I backtracked to the guy, took the knife away, and began running for the farthest cave as possible. This time, I made sure I left as little as sound as possible. I entered a cave, and began to sit down in exhaustion.

* * *

Only ten more seconds and already, I was panicking. I was quite sure that somebody could hear the pounding of my heart. We were in a freezing wasteland! I scanned the Cornucopia and saw worthless items the closest to me. A spear and a neon green bag. Might as well get the bag. Five, four, three, two, one, and a horn blared.

I saw Jean run full-speed ahead, and my heart fell as I realized she abandoned us. I saw somebody grab the bag and quickly, I shoved the trident into the guy. I was pretty sure that was the first kill. I grabbed the bag from him and took his tiny knife. I began running for my life to a cave and was happy when nobody bothered me.

Maybe getting a 3.5 had it's advantages. I settled in a cave a bit far away from the Cornucopia and sat down. So far, Jean ran away, I made the first kill, and Miley followed Jean. I'm the loner. _Oh shut up!_ I thought. I began rummaging through the bag, and I had to dump all it's context out.

I wrinkled my nose in disgust. There was only makeup. I killed, only to have a bag of makeup. Well, at least I killed a boy. I found a note and began reading it,

_Hello! We have recently received complaints from our Capitol that every year, they had to put up with ugly tributes and this year, if you prettied yourself up well enough, you'll be rewarded. _

I gave a snort and crumpled up the note. Like to hell I'll put on makeup for their satisfactions We had to put up with starving and being in the Games! I gave a scoff again as I reorganized everything.

* * *

I tried to keep up with Jane, really, but she was just too fast. When I saved her by stabbing somebody's sword into the District 12's hear, I quickly grabbed her arrows and when I looked up, she was gone. I figured she was running north, so I ran north too. It was only a matter of time when I stumbled into a guy.

He was about 14 years old, and I would have been dead if he didn't notice Jean first. He just pushed me on the floor as he ran to get the green bag she was holding. I fell on a sharp rock and my elbow suddenly felt sore. I sat there for a minute, and I gave up on chasing Jane. I settled in a nearby cave and began proceeding the order of the events in my head. _Chased after Jane, saved her life, got arrows, banged my elbow, resting._

"Damn." I whispered.


	11. Now Kids, How Did Your Second Day Go?

Once I woke up, I had a feeling that I was at home, with Harry and my family where we huddled near a fire, but when I realized I wasn't, I threw my bad of makeup against the cave wall in frustration. I heard a clink, and winced as I thought of what I broke. I scrambled to the bag, and saw only one of the colors of the eye shadow broke.

I frowned, as it was a pretty light shade of green, and frowned even deeper as I realized I had to put on this stuff to get a present. _Please make it be a blanket, _I prayed as I applied some makeup that will hide my face in the snow. Like grey eye shadow, a little black blush, and white lipstick. I clapped my hands as I saw a silver parachute descending from outside.

I scrambled outside, and cautiously, took it in. Once I opened it, I was glad that all I needed to do was put on makeup.

Four steaming hot sausages and 2 pancakes with savory syrup with butter on top was packed in there with a fork. I ate little by little, wanting to make the taste last as long as possible. I frowned again as I finished the breakfast and tried to drain the last of the syrup. I wiped my mouth and plunged my fingers into the snow and began to wonder what to do.

If I stay in here, there's a less chance of people catching sight of me, although, if I venture out to find Jean and Miley, there's a great risk I might die before I even catch sight of them.

_I'll stay in here, _I thought. I began to reorganize the makeup again, trying to save the last bit of the crumbs from the broke makeup.

* * *

My stomach growled. I frantically looked around to make sure nobody was within earshot. Which didn't help as surrounding me was just walls and snow! earlier that morning, I was freezing cold and began to make a snow door, like an igloo, except, there was no way of going out. It didn't matter, as I didn't need to catch up with Miley and Arada and nobody can find me.

My door of snow came crashing down and a figure stood in the midst of it.

_Yeah, nobody, _I thought. I gingerly touched my knife, "Who are you?" I croaked.

"J-Jean?" It asked. Judging from the tone of the voice, I deciphered it is a girl. And the voice sounds vaguely familiar...

"Miley?"

The figure threw itself at me, and my knife slid across the floor as the weight of Miley crushed me.

"Miley!" I exclaimed, in a happier voice.

"It is you!" Miley replied, in the same tone that I used.

"Yay, it's me."

Miley snapped back to reality, and in an exhausted voice, she said, "I was trying to catch up with you, you know. You just run too fast."

"Well, in the Hunger Games, you can never be sure if you are safe. Anyway, how did you find me?"

"Oh, I was over there, somewhere, and I heard your stomach growl."

"Speaking of which," I said in a hushed voice, "you better keep your voice low."

"Right, where's Arada?" She asked, more quietly this time.

"Oh, somewhere."

"She didn't follow us?"

"If she did, then she would have died."

"I can't tell if that's a joke or a statement. It is partially true."

"Hey! Don't talk behind your friend's back!"

"B-but you-you j-just did- oh, I see where you are going." She picked herself up to leave, "By the way, your door is weak."

When she got to the entrance, I called out, "Wait! I was just kidding! I'm just really really worried about her, since if she dies, we die! And-and-and-"

"Ssh...Let's go find her then, okay?" She helped me up from the floor, but my arm suddenly stung, as I remembered what had happened.

"C-can we clean this first?" I asked. She nodded, and she helped me wash it.

"We need plants..." She muttered.

We departed the cave, and began heading east, as Miley caught a glimpse of Arada heading east when she was haggling for the arrows. It was only until 2 hours later, when we saw a difference than snow and caves. We saw trees.

I ran to get a leave to bandage my wound, as it had opened again, while Miley hugged a tree.

"Tree hugger." I whispered.

"I never thought I would see you again!" She said.

I had just finished tying my wound and wearing all my layers again when Miley finally sat down, her back to the tree.

"Maybe I can get a view of this area." She said. She began climbing to the 8th branch, where she whistled.

"Not a single animal that I could see!" She called.

"Where are we suppose to get food?!" I yelled.

"Um, maybe there are birds in the trees!"

"Or bears in the caves!"

"That too. Maybe wolves in the-"

"Stop giving me nightmares!"

She scrambled up higher in the tree. and when I saw her lips move, I heard nothing back. Except, for another voice.

"Well well well, what do we have here?"


	12. Bloody War

"We don't want to kill you, you know." I said, my voice shaking.

"Yeah, you better run before I beat the hell out of you." Miley growled. From the tone of her voice, I knew that she wasn't lying.

"Oh boo hoo hoo, I am so scared!" One of the girls sarcastically said, "Well, bitch, you just made it on MY list. Prepare to die!" With that, she lurched forward at Jean, and 4 others came out attacking, while the guy who challenged us stood in the midst of it.

"Jean! Duck!"

I immediately rolled to the floor as I heard a spear whizzing pass where my heart would have been. I glanced at Miley, and nodded my thanks, but I saw she was engaged with getting the girl of her leg, ready to stab Miley with her dagger.

I threw a knife at the girl, where she crumbled to the spot, and Miley killed her instantly. I was distracted again, which caused a guy to take advantage of it, and clumsily slash a battle ax at me. I easily dodged that, as he swung the ax too high up causing him to partly topple. I shove a knife in the side of his rib, and he rolled onto the floor, unconscious. I grabbed the knife out and was prepared for the next attack.

I saw an arrow whiz pass me, and it landed on a girl who was ready to kill me behind my back. She fell down, where I struck at her to make sure she died.

I did a quick check of the field, and saw that the guy who caught us was already moving toward Miley. Although, there were only 2 guys left, but I could have sworn I saw 6 on the battlefield. Miley killed 2, and I killed one. There's 2 on the field, where's the other one?

My question was answered when I heard a scream. I checked on Miley, and I saw she was armed with a knife and some bow against a sword. I quickly ran to the source of the scream and saw Arada, blood pouring out of her thigh, and a girl, a mace in her hand.

"YOU!" I yelled, I began to throw a knife at her, but she just laughed.

"Ha! Catch me if you can!" She began running faster than I could, and my knife missed her by inches. It was then that the other guy preyed upon me. He was tall and buff, and I realized that we were facing with the Careers. He had a trident in his hand, and he seemed sure of how to use it. He slashed at me, which I dodged easily, but the dodging caused me to be off balance giving him an advantage.

He used the other side of the trident, and he kept on poking me, until he had me with my back against the wall. "You are pretty good," I said.

He smirked, "I have been training my whole life. Now, how shall I kill you? With this trident pinning you on your throat, or this end part into your heart?"

"Well, if you examine closely, the spaces on the trident is wide enough for me to slip through, so pinning me won't do any good."

He twirled the trident to get a better view, and that was when I slammed my dagger into his heart. He fell, but not without scratching my hand with the end of his trident.

Once he was on the floor, I sidetracked him and studied the trident's end. It had a sharp arrow head, and I felt the blood trickling down my hand. I shoved the thought aside, and began to help Arada up. I lifted her head, but then I remembered Miley with a sword probably killing her and she's only armed with a knife and arrows. I dropped Arada's head and began running to Miley.

I was just in time when the guy swung his sword. Miley only had a few minor scratches, nothing more serious than my hand, but it was that slash that worried me. I threw my dagger at his neck, and he fell, but not without his sword banging on her head. She wobbled for a second, then recovered and began patting her head.

"Miley! I found Arada, and she's wounded really bad!" I yelled.

I heard her mutter, "Don't you care about me?" but nonetheless, she scurried to where I directed her, and I saw a tiny pool of blood where her wound is.

"We have to stop the wound or she will die from the loss of blood," Miley directed.

"But how?"

"I need a herb! Try to find some plants in the woods and hurry!" She began to undress Arada, and luckily, she wore shorts underneath all her layers.

I began running into the woods, but the I remembered a herb. Aloe Vera. If this is a tundra, then there must be some aloe vera! I began running around, and it wasn't long until I saw it. I sliced some off with a brand new dagger, and began running back to Arada and Miley.

Miley nodded her thanks, and before she began to clean the wound, I noticed a silver parachute flying down to us. I shook her shoulders and pointed to it. She grabbed the parachute and began opening it to receive a little container, while I read the note.

_That was a great fight! For your wounds, drink a teaspoon to be in deep slumber for 2 hours. Six teaspoons in all_.

Miley opened the lid and began forcing Arada to drink it. I was glad it was a teaspoon, as if it was any more, Arada would have just refused to drink it. Arada began to close her eyes, and Miley began to clean it with snow. Once there were no trace of blood coming out, she sliced the aloe vera very thinly and applied it over the wound.

I shivered at the size of the wound. It was as big as my palm, and went in 2 inches or so.

To make it more effective, Miley tore some clothing from Arada's pants and soaked the cloth in the juice of the aloe vera. She wrapped it around the wound and began dressing her.

"There's a big hole in her pants, should we cover it up?" I asked.

"With what? We have no thread or fabric." Miley replied, still staring at Arada, who was now peacefully sleeping.

"Um, we could glue the leaves together with aloe vera."

"You go do it, I had enough for this day."

I began to get some leaves, and started to paste the aloe vera on it, and made a long enough skirt. Miley put it on her, and we began to help Arada into the cave that blocked the woods in the first place. The sun was well over my back, and I felt uncomfortable in all the black clothing.

Once Arada was rested, a silver parachute came down and I began to read the note.

_That is a nice skirt! When she wakes up, she can explain what my gift to you is_!

Miley opened up the package to reveal...makeup.


	13. Reunited

"How long do you think she is going to sleep?"

"Well, the medicine says for 2 hours, so maybe 2 hours?"

"Of course...How long do you thing she has been sleeping?"

"About an hour and 30 minutes, I guess."

I suddenly sat straight up and opened my eyes. "I have been sleeping for that long?" I asked.

"Arada! But you are suppose to wake up in 30 more minutes!" Jean exclaimed.

"Well, that will explain why my leg is feeling numb."

"Then the medicine is still in your body." Miley said.

"Meanwhile, I'm starving. All that fighting and the loss of blood really makes you hungry!"

"Right, I'll go and find a squirrel or something." Jean said. She picked herself up to leave and I thought of some savory meat for dinner. I felt guilty that I had breakfast today, but probably not them. Still, my wound makes me very hungry, and if I told them about my breakfast, they might not get me dinner!

Miley appeared closely at me, "Are you wearing...makeup?"

I blushed, "How do you know?"

"Because there are random blotches of black, and I'm guessing that's not natural."

"Is my makeup really bad?"

"Yes. Anyway, why are you wearing makeup and HOW did you get makeup on? The people who gave us our outfits didn't apply any makeup to us."

"Well..."

"Arada, cough it up. While you were sleeping, we got a bag of makeup and it said to ask you."

"Fine. While you were chasing Jean, I saw a bag a few meters from me and I ran to get it. It had some beauty stuff inside and you need to make yourself pretty in order to get gifts. AndIworeitontogetsomebreakfa st."

"I know."

"Then why did you ask?"

"Because I looked inside your bag. ANYWAY, are you CRAZY?! You sent Jean out there, in the evening, to get you food! For all I know, your breakfast might have been a feast! But no, you had to sent her out there, making her excited that you are awake, and she might get killed by a bear, because she wanted to get a lot of meat for you!"

"Are you done?"

"NO! She might freeze to death, because she didn't want to come back here without any food and making you dissapointed-"

"There's a snow storm coming!"

I looked quizzically at Miley, as she was talking about Jean, but I saw her mouth was closed. I followed her stare and saw Jean at the mouth of the cave.

"There's a snow storm coming! And by the looks of it, it's big!" Jean yelled again. She began to run and get our parachutes, when I felt a great gush of wind coming in, and snow pounding down. Where Jean was standing before yelling that there was a snowstorm, was now just a mix of snow and rocks.

The cave's opening has collapsed.

Jean fell to the floor, "I could have saved you guys...if only I came here faster and didn't pick up their weapons..."

I looked at her, and realized she had the Career's weapons. A battle ax, a sword, a dagger, a knife, and a spear. The only weapon she was missing was the mace that put the hole in my thigh in the first place. I clenched my fist as I realized that the girl had run away before Jean or I could kill her.

Miley patted Jean's back, "It's okay. At least we are armed and we are all together."

"It's not enough. I don't even have food. We could starve in here!" She got up and went to our used-to-be-exit. I shivered as my back was against the wall opposite of her. I could heard the wind and I wondered how Jean would have lived if she stayed out there a little longer.

"Can I have my back against the floor?" I asked, as the wind was making me shiver over and over.

"Okay." Miley said. She began dragging me to the middle, so my left arm was on Jean's side, and my right arm on Miley's side. I winced, as the floor was bumpy and wished that I had a pillow. Then I frowned, as I realized how spoiled I seem. Back at my home, we barely had a blanket for each of us, and my parents had to share one blanket in order to let Harry have one. I'm lucky, because I don't need a blanket through all these layers. I never even had a pillow, or the sausages, or even two meals a day! What happened to me?

I realized it was the Capitol's fault, they spoiled us too much, and then sent us off to our death.

"I can't hear the wind anymore." Jean said.

"Does that mean the storm is over?" Miley asked.

"I-I think."

"I don't feel the numb in my leg either." I called.

"Then the storm has been on for less than 30 minutes."

"If it was any longer-" I finished my sentence with a scream. I felt a huge rumble, and I suddenly saw the night's sky.

A tree has fallen in the middle of our cave, and one of the branches has my arm weighed down.


	14. Don't You Just Hate It When You Get Sick

"Are you okay?" Jean yelled.

I glanced at Aranda, "Yup, I'm fine, nice of you to ask me!"

"I'm not!" Arada yelled.

"What happened?"

"Oh, well, our cave collapsed..."

"And a huge tree is smashing me! HELP!"

Jean peeked her head through one of the branches. "Ah, so you aren't okay." She began to climb over, and together, we heaved the branch up, which probably weighed 4 pounds, and Arada began to crawl out.

"So your leg isn't feeling so numb?" I asked, seeing she could walk and the medicine probably wore off.

"Yes, but it feels sore."

"Um, where are we going to sleep?"

I began to observe the landscape, and saw that half of the caves were buried, and 1/4.

"Jean, since you were the closest to outside, did you hear a cannon boom at all?" I asked.

"I could only hear the wind," She replied.

_So the people buried are still not dead. _

"Geez, we have a better chance of dying, as the people who are not buried might be alive and awake in some of those caves."

"It's either murder or the cold ground."

"Cold ground!" Jean chirped.

"Cold ground."

"Cold ground it is then." I beckoned them to follow me, and we began traveling to the trees, glad that the Careers had been picked up. "Let's settle here, and sleep with our back against the tree."

They all nodded, and soon it was morning.

* * *

"Garaghmatanghlaopewa." I mumbled. "Woalnooboadpit!" I stuck my hands out like a mummy, "GARWAHEIFENFOENAOKDNMWLQ!"

Miley lurched back in surprise, and I saw that in her hand was a stick. That was previously poking me on the leg. Where the wound is! I began to relax, and felt a bit stuffy, with a headache.

"I just wanted to see how your wound is." She said.

"Well, you should of known...when I...said something..." I croaked. My throat began to feel dry and itchy, and I didn't know how I managed to say the jumble of words.

"Oh, well, you need to wake up. We have to find a cave to live in or we'll bound to be found or even freeze to death." She stuck out her hand to help me up.

I just waved her aside and began to turn on my side, letting my head rest on the tree trunk, while my back ached from sitting with my back against the tree the whole night. "I...don't...want...to..."

"COME ON! Jean is already waiting, she's just washing her jacket that was filled with blood from yours and the Careers."

"It's the...fourth day...Why not...tomorrow?"

"Because we'll freeze before tomorrow!" She grabbed my hand, and instantly took it away. "Arada! You're warm!"

"Nice to know..."

She began feeling my forehead, which was now filled with dots of sweat. I felt like I was on fire. "You have a fever."

"Do we...still have to go?"

"Maybe not, JEAN! Come here!"

Jean arrived from the back of us, carrying a wet sweater. "Yeah?"

"Arada has the fever." Miley declared.

"How do you know it's a fever?"

"Because if she has a cold, then she will be hacking up. Instead, she's just warm."

Jean bend down and touched my forehead, "How are you feeling?"

"Dizzy, with a big...headache..." I forced myself to say.

"She has a fever."

"What are we going to do?" Miley asked.

I started feeling sweaty, so I took off my jacket. I was going to take off another layer when Jean stopped me. "Are you CRAZY? You could catch a cold!"

"But it's...HOT!" I whined.

"We need to do something, before you die from the fever!" Miley said.

"So, you can't take off your sweater, because it's freezing out here, you can't get hot, because you have a fever."

"What about you add ice to me?" I asked.

"No, Arada, you'll freeze!"

"You are so lucky that you are cold and I'm hot." I mumbled. "It takes forever to cool down while you guys just need to...jump."

"You might be onto something!" Jean yelled. In a quieter voice, she said, "If we are freezers, and you are a heater, then neither one of us is perfect."

"So that means. God damn it! Jean, I figured it out! Arada, you need to be WARM!"

"How are we going to do that?"

"Well," Jean began, "we just need hot and cold things added together."

"So you too are going to squish against me?"

"No!" Miley yelled, "We are going to catch your fever!"

"Instead, we are going to have ice on you, and a fire burning by."

"Which creates warm!"

"Well, let's see if you can do it before I die."

Soon, there was a fire cackling in front of me, and a cooling sensation over my body.

"Aren't you afraid someone will see the smoke?" Jean asked.

"I doubt it, most of them will probably be buried under, wishing they had a fire." Miley said.

"Well, I don't care. I'm not moving."


	15. Jean Had A Little Lamb!

**Hi! Even though I've been dead for a while, my friend is not! She's writing on and on, but I have to edit it, to make you readers get what's going on. As their work sometimes doesn't make sense. You see, I told you that my friend has this story, but she doesn't have an account so she gave it to me, but that's not the whole truth. No, I wasn't lying to you, as I didn't tell you anything that is wrong. I just hid the details. Now, two of my friend's friend are in with the stories. Their names are Arada and Miley, and my friend is Jean. They would think of a story line, in this case it's the Hunger Games, and they would take turns writing a small part. It's like a role play. Pretty cool. Now, my friend reread over the story, and with so much editing, I miss some minor mistakes. Sometimes, I would put Aranda instead of Arada, it's the same person.**

* * *

I poked at the fire with a stick. It crackled, making me jump. I stared at it, and finally, it became too bright for my eyes. I looked around the clearing, and the sun was well over our backs now. Arada was dozing with her back against the tree, and was halfway buried under snow. Miley was next to her, fumbling with her hands. I sighed, and Miley looked up. I noticed that she wasn't fumbling with her hands at all. There was a parachute there, and she was wrapping it again.

"What's that?" I asked.

"A gift from the Capitol." She mumbled.

"What is it?"

"Poison pills. It's for high temperature, but it doesn't look like it. From what Arada taught me, it has poison leaves in it."

"We're having enemies already?"

"Seems like it. We've killed a lot of people so far."

"Speaking of which, someone is bound to find us here. We need a cave. What about I go find one while she's asleep?"

"What happens if you get caught by somebody?"

"Then you come! If you don't see me for at least 5 minutes, then get your ass over there!"

Miley mumbled, "You might die before I get there. Anyway, just go then! The sooner you go, the sooner you come here!"

I nodded at her, and began running faster than ever.

* * *

I felt my arm being shook so bad that I had to wake up. I squinted at Miley, who was previously shaking my arm.

"Finally, you are awake!" She exclaimed.

"W-where's Jean?" I asked, my voice coming out in a croak. I felt better already, and I think my fever is gone.

"That's why I need you to wake up. She went to search for a cave, and I hadn't seen her for 10 minutes already!" She began to gather her bow and arrows, and a dagger, just in case.

"Wait, you are leaving me?!"

"For a little. Don't worry, with that huge cave blocking us and the forest, you could stay hidden for a long time.

"W-what?! I can't stay here alone!"

"You have to." She said firmly. "Or Jean will die." She began running off, tracking Jean's footprints.

I mumbled to myself, "What happens if I die first?" I was furious at Miley leaving, but even more furious at Jean. Couldn't she just wait? Everywhere she goes, she always get caught by somebody! I groaned, and moved closer to the fire. It was sending off a lot of smoke, and gradually feeding on the branches. It seems like it was growing bigger, but I was too sleepy to put it out. I close my eyes, and began to dream.

* * *

I silently crept up to a cave. There were approximately 9 caves out here, and with that little caves, about 2/3 were occupied. I had only visited one cave, and inside were 3 people. I shivered at the thought, but not because of the cold, but because I could have sworn somebody saw me. There was 2 girls, and a boy, but one of the girls were waking up, and it was that moment that I tried to look in the cave. I slapped my forehead, as I realized who it was.

Kimberly.

The one that ran away and put a hole in Arada's leg. I clenched my fist as I came to another cave, and prayed there was nobody inside and I wouldn't make the same mistake. I poked my head through, and after scanning inside, I entered. It's smaller than the cave we had, but it will work. I fingered the wall, and suddenly remembered how weary and hungry I was.

What is it? Four days now? And I still hadn't died. I congratulated myself on that, and in the far right corner, I crouched in a ball. I miss my family, my life, my district, and I would do anything to get it back. Even if it means killing people for it. I fingered my knife, and winced as I pierced a tiny hole in my finger. Blood trickled down, and met another scar.

I remembered the Career scratching me with the end of his trident, and that made me think of the battle. The aircraft had already picked up their bodies, but they hadn't picked up their doings. I could still see their faces haunting me, and I winced at their whispers for revenge, but I was even more shock when I heard another powerful voice.

"I saw you, you know."

I quickly stood up, and saw Kimberly on the entrance of the cave.

"Did you run away from your friends? Wanted to join me, but didn't have the nerve?"

I clenched my jaw, "In your dreams."

"Oh, then answer me this. If you already found a cave for your friends, why didn't you run back to get them?"

"How do you know-"

"Tsk tsk, poor weak Arada. She has a high fever, but she's all alone because you weren't in Miley's sight for 10 whole minutes."

"W-what do you mean?"

"Miley's coming her way here, now, and Arada has a nasty surprise coming her way."

"What do you want?!" I screamed at her. A single word pounded in my head, _spying. _She has been spying on us the whole time.

"I saw you fight, and you are pretty strong...for a wimp. Lucky for you, my friends are not that strong as you. In fact, if you don't join me now, your precious talent will be destroyed!"

I gawped at her, as I realized what she wanted of me. _Allies, she wants us to be allies. _I growled, "There's no way in hell that I would be allies with you."

"Okay then. Your choice. You were going to die anyway." She ran towards me, faster than I could run, and had me with a knife aimed at my throat. I felt it pierce into my skin, and blood trickling down my throat. Any second now, I would have my throat split open, but she just kept it there. Torturing me, making me feel pain.

"S-stop," I croaked. "J-just kill me."

She smiled, "But where's the fun in that?"

"There is no fun, except in this."

She collapsed on top of me, leaving the knife stuck on my throat. I pulled it clear, and saw Miley where the cave opening is.

Tears flew to my eyes, but without further hesitation, I ran out of the cave, and towards Arada. Any minute I wait, means having her die.


End file.
